President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law quickly. The measure raises income taxes for the first time in two decades, specifically for individuals with income greater than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000, the Times said. The Washington Post added that the capitals gains and dividends tax will be permanently set at 20 percent for high earners, individuals making $400,000 or more per year, couples making $450,000 or more, and will remain at 15 percent for everyone else.

In its analysis of the deal, also published before the House voted, Reuters quoted economists who suggested that the deal will stave off a recession that almost certainly would have hit had sequestration been allowed. Furthermore, the government still has to raise its debt ceiling in order to bring certainty to financial markets, Reuters said.